March 28, 2003	Friday	Muharram 24, 1424

LJUBLJANA: The United States mistakenly named Slovenia as a partner in its war against Iraq and even offered it a share of the money budgeted for the conflict, the tiny Alpine nation said on Thursday.

One day after hundreds of Slovenians hit the streets to protest the inclusion of their nation in Tuesday’s US war budget, Prime Minister Anton Rop said Washington goofed.

“When we asked for an explanation, the State Department told us we were named in the document by mistake as we are not a member of the coalition against Iraq,” Rop told a news conference.

Slovenia was one of the states named in the $75 billion US war budget which must be approved by Congress and includes grants to partners in the US-led military action. Slovenia was slated to get $4.5 million from the budget, which Rop said will not be forthcoming.

“We are a part of no such coalition. We are a part of a coalition for peace,” Rop said.

Slovenia also said on Thursday it had granted a US request to allow aeroplanes with humanitarian aid, refugees and wounded fly over the tiny Alpine state to and from Iraq.

But it stuck to an earlier decision to hold off a US request to transport military equipment through the country, until the UN Security Council authorized force against Iraq.—Reuters